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| Separatists Confusion: from bilateral dialogue to US mediation | | | NIRBHAY JAMMUAL
Kashmiri separatists are a strange lot.On one had they have supported the ongoing India-Pakistan dialogue for resolving all bilateral problems,including the Kashmir issue on the other they are seeking mediation from a third country.These separatists have,over the years,looked towards the United States for mediation knowing it well that the super power alone could mediate between India and Pakistan for settling the Kashmir issue.These separatists know that since both Islamabad and Delhi continue to bank on monetary and military support from the US Government the American leadership could play the role of a headmaster for resoving the 60-year old issue of Kashmir.The separatists have been favouring bilateral and trilateral dialogue on Kashmir.They have said,on a number of occasions,that representatives of people of Kashmir needed to be involved in the ongoing dialogue between Pakistan and India so that a solution to the Kashmir problem was evolved which could satisfy Delh,Islamabad and people of Kashmir.
However,this time the APHC leadership has,in a communication to the US President elect,Barack Obama,pleaded for his intervention so that Kashmir issue was resolved without any further loss of blood.Does it mean that the APHC leadership has moved away from its established stand on bilateral and tripartite talks for the settlement of the Kashmir issue ?It seems so.Or it could be the result of Obama's recent remarks on Kashmir in which he had linked the resolution of Afghanistan crisis with the Kashmir issue and his decision to send a special envoy to India for resolving the dispute.Delhi has already preferred not to attach undue importance to Obama's remarks on Kashmir as it feels that they were just pre-election rehetoric.It believes that Obama has not been briefed properly by his aides on Kashmir and hence an Indian team is visiting America to discuss the issue with Obama's advisers.
In fact the separatists had become disillusioned over the role George Bush played in ensuring pro-India tilt in the US foreign policy.It was under the regime of George Bush that a new era had dawned in the firendly relations between Delhi and Washington.These separatists. expect Obama to reverse the policies of Bush when the US President elect has commited himself to fight against terrorism.If the grant of right of self-determination to people in Kashmir is dear to the hearts of the separatists they should have joined the ongoing poll process on the slogan of Kashmir for Kashmiris.They should have issued a poll manifesto saying that vote for them would be vote for freedom of Kashmir.And had they been able to win the majority they could claim that they have won the battle for Azadi.They have not done so because they know their strength.They know they may not be able to win more than 12 Assembly seats as was the case in 1987 election.Hence they have given a call to people to boycott the election and insead have sought the US mediation on Kashmir.It is like a story of a weak person either seeking help from God or from a third powerful nation to get disputes resolved.
Separatists have been favouring tripartite talks in which representatives of people of Kashmir were involved.Who could be these representatives ?To determine it the separatists should seek mandate from the people which they can do if they contest an election. That election may not be necessarily be aimed at forming the Government but for giving a chance to the APHC leaders and others to demonstrate they represent the people of Kashmir. They are not prepared to do it. It is better if they do it failing which they should forget the Kashmir issue. |
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